WEBVTT Kind: captions; Language: en

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Your life worked.

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Music When the white man first came
to North America, a great part of the

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continent was closed in majestic forests.

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Wherever soil and climate were,
trees flourished in countless numbers.

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But to the early settlers,
trees were a barrier.

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They were something to be destroyed,
to be gotten out of the way so that

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the land could be turned to agriculture.

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Except for fuel and for log cabins and barns,
little use was made of

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trees that fell to the settlers' acts.

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Most of them were stacked and burned.

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But as America grew and the frontier was
pushed rapidly back, many sawmills were

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established to make the
vast quantities of lumber

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needed for building of a nation.

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The sawmills devoured trees by the millions.

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To feed them, the loggers slashed
into the virgin forests with

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little or no thought for the future.

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They left scenes of desolation as they
moved on to new forests to be despoiled.

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But wasteful logging was not
the only enemy of the forest.

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Fire, due chiefly to man's carelessness, ate up

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thousands upon thousands of acres.

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Finally, destruction of this natural
resource reached the point where America

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awakened to the need for conservation.

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In 1891, Congress began setting aside
large tracts of timber as national forest

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reserves and watersheds.

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These national forests now
exceed 160 million acres.

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And state and private
holdings add millions more.

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But the fact that some of these
tracts are called reserves does not

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mean that no trees are cut.

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For trees are like any crop.
They must be harvested when mature. Otherwise,

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they rot away and are wasted.

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The important thing is to harvest the big
trees without killing the young ones,

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or to leave enough mature trees
to reseed the area again.

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So today, the government and some forest
industries are cooperating on a program

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designed to ensure a continuous
supply of timber and

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steady, well-paid employment.

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There are nearly a million persons
engaged in harvesting, processing, and

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distributing forest products.

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A comparatively small number
of persons are engaged in

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protecting and managing our forests.

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And the opportunities for
employment are limited.

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The experts in this field, the professional
foresters, are employed by federal,

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state, and local government agencies,
or by private companies.

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For private employment,
college training in forestry is not

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required, though it is preferred.

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Permanent government positions are
filled by civil service examinations and

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require college training with at least
two years of technical forestry subjects.

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But regardless of the employing agency,
the fields of work are similar.

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Protecting the forest from fire is one of
a forester's greatest responsibilities.

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He organizes and manages a fire prevention
system consisting of lookout stations,

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telephone lines,
and firefighting crews and equipment.

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And when fire strikes, it's his duty to
stick with his crew until it is put out.

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Some burnt-over areas can be reforested
to get them back into production.

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The forester helps to plan the work and
supervises the planting of the seedlings.

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Every year, millions of heads of
livestock graze on the nation's forests.

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It is part of some forester's
work to see that the range is not

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damaged by overgrazing.

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Permits are issued,
allowing only a certain number of sheep

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or cattle into the area.

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Foresters are also concerned with the
wildlife that lives in the forest.

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They help to administer state game laws,
offer recommendations as to protection,

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and other phases of wildlife management.

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Forests provide recreation grounds
where people may experience

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healthful outdoor life.

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The forester helps the public to
enjoy the forest, but must see

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that users do not harm it.

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Educating the public is part of his job.

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Trees are subject to injury
by disease and insects.

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Studying these pests and working
out ways to combat them is another

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field of activity for the forester.

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Before logging operations start in an area,
a forester or his assistants go over

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it carefully, selecting and marking
those trees which are to be felled.

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And later, when logging starts,
a forester watches to see that no

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unnecessary damage is done.

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Some foresters do research work
with wood products to find new or

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better ways to utilize them.

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This work is of great benefit
because it means less

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waste of our forest resources.

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There are many other occupational duties
in professional forestry, but basically

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they all call for men with certain abilities,
interests, and attitudes.

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To be a forester,
you should enjoy outdoor work and

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be interested in growing things.

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You must have good health
and be ready to endure

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discomfort and occasional hardships.

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You must be willing to work under lonely
conditions, but also enjoy contact with

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the public and be able to impress
them with the importance of

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activities requiring their cooperation.

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And you must attend one of the
schools in the United States offering

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technical forestry courses.

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Employment in the forest industries for
others than foresters covers a wide

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range of skills and training.

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In logging, for instance, engineers and
surveyors are needed to plan the methods

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by which the logs will be hauled
from the woods to the mill.

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This often entails the laying
out of railroads or truck roads.

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Skilled woods workers, commonly called
lumberjacks, do the actual cutting.

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This is hard work,
and it is often carried on in bad weather.

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In the old days,
these men were not paid very well, and

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their living conditions were poor.

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But today, in most cases,
they are well paid and provided with

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comfortable camps and good food.

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They also have modern machinery to aid
in making the work easier and in getting

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the logs out of the woods faster.

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At the mill,
the logs are dumped into a storage pond.

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Storing them in water protects them from
drying out too quickly, and also makes

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it easier to sort them before
they go into the mill.

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This job requires a fine sense of balance,
as well as a

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knowledge of various species of trees.

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In the mill, each log is placed on the
carriage, a moving platform which brings

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the log into contact with a saw
which cuts off a board on each trip.

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The head sawyer's job is a very important one.

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He decides the best way to cut each log,
and signals, indicating

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the thickness of the board to be cut.

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The man on the carriage quickly adjusts it,
following the

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instructions of the head sawyer.

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From the head saw, the boards move
to the edger saw, which cuts off

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the rounded, irregular sides.

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The trimmer saw operator must
make split-second decisions.

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He cuts each board so that the greatest
amount of high-grade lumber is produced.

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The rough boards come out of the mill on
a long conveyor chain, and are sorted by

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men who are trained to recognize
different grades at a glance.

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The freshly cut boards must be
carefully dried or seasoned.

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Sometimes they are piled
in a large seasoning yard.

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This method, known as air drying,
requires several months.

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The modern and faster way is to put the
lumber in special kills, where hot air

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and steam dry it in a few days.

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Some seasoned lumber goes next to a planing
mill, where it is smoothed and cut to

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patterns, or is made into special
materials such as window frames and doors.

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The manufacture of plywood is a forest
industry that employs many persons.

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However,
work in the mills and in the woods is quite

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similar to that in lumbering.

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There are also mills specializing in
making veneers for furniture and woodwork.

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Some of these companies use rare
woods from all over the world.

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Then there is the production and
processing of pulpwood into paper.

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This industry uses thousands
of skilled workers.

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In any forest industry, whether it be
producing lumber or other products, there

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are fine positions as superintendents or
executives for those who are efficient

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and have the necessary training or education.

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But of course you have to start
at a lower level and work up.

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In the distributing end of the industry,
the local building material

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dealers require many employees.

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The establishment of a lumber yard
of your own would be a fine goal.

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But you must know the business, have enough
capital, and choose a good location.

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It would be best to work for someone else

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until you learn the business thoroughly.

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Thus, the forest industries and
the field of forestry offer a

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great variety of opportunities.

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However, you must consider the fact
that some activities, especially the

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government agencies,
require comparatively few new men each year.

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If you do go into forestry or one
of the industries, you will be part

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of work that has a future.

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For the aim of all foresters and farsighted
owners of timberlands is a perpetual

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supply of products through proper management.

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It would be well for you to investigate
the opportunities in this field.

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Perhaps employment in forestry or
one of the forest industries will

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become your life worth.

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